Jump to content

Michael´s Third Year


michael-ibk

Recommended Posts

Spotted Crake is one that is high on my wish list. Nice one!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Ok, Costa Rica!:) We spent three weeks in the country with @xelas and Zvezda and ran after everything that had feathers. Conditions were tough, rain and rain and rain again, so I apologise in advance for all the ebcs I´m about to torment you all with. All photos taken between July 14th and August 22nd. I´m posting in scientific order, following "Birds of Costa Rica" by Richard Garrigues and Robert Dean. Quite a good fieldguide in general, although some of the drawings are definitely a bit off. I bought the more comprehensive "A Guide to the Birds of Costa Rica" by F. Gary Stiles and Alexander Skutch as well but did not even take it with me. Too unwieldy, and the illustrations are separarate from the bird descriptions. The locations:

Arenal, foothills North-West of San Jose,

Sarapiqui, North-East, lowlands

Manzanillo, Southern Carribean Coast

Rancho Naturalista, foothills South-East of San Jose

San Gerardo, Talamanca Highlands

Bosque del Cabo, Osa Peninsula

Manuel Antonio, Pacific Coast

 

311/C1.) Great Curassow (Crax rubra) / Tuberkelhokko

 

A confiding garden bird both at Arenal Observatory Lodge and Bosque del Cabo. Pretty much a Central American species, they are found from Mexiko down to the Pacific Coast of Colombia and Ecuador.

 

large.1353838242_CR_3382_GreatCurassow_(

 

A female at Bosque de Cabo, 1/8.

 

large.1162457731_CR_2641_GreatCurassow_(

 

And the male, Bosque Del Cabo, 31/7.

 

large.684197683_CR_309_GreatCurassow_(Tu

 

The youngster, seen at Arenal, 17/7.

Edited by michael-ibk
Link to comment
Share on other sites

312/C2.) Grey-Headed Chachalaca (Ortalis ciniereiceps) / Graukopfguan

 

Arenal area, Fortuna trail, 17/7. A pretty common bird throughout the whole country. The weird, unpronouncable name is an onomatopoeia for the four-noted cackle of its sister species, the Plain Chachalaca.

 

large.1646778910_CR_567_Grey-HeadedChach

Link to comment
Share on other sites

313/C3.) Crested Guan (Penelope purpurascens) / Rostbauchguan

 

Bosque del Cabo, 1/8. Seen quite regularly in Arenal, Rancho Naturalista and BdC. Surprisingly arboreal for a big bird like this, rarely comes down to the ground. Another mainly Central American bird, it just about reaches the Western and North-Western areas of South America.

 

large.319808757_CR_3338_CrestedGuan_(Ros

Link to comment
Share on other sites

314/C4.) Great Tinamou (Tinamus major) / Großtinamu

 

Bosque Del Cabo, 30/7. This should actually have been the first bird to post but I was not eager to start my CR count with this terrible ISO 16,000 photo. B) Not a very striking bird but its song is very beautiful, I loved listening to its distinctive deep whistle when walking in the forest. Widely distributed, also found in most of the Amazon.

 

large.1275793787_CR_2539_GreatTinamou_(G

Link to comment
Share on other sites

315/C5.) Least Grebe (Tachybaptus dominicus) / Schwarzkopf-Zwergtaucher

 

Arenal area, 16/7. The only sighting of this bird, on the Arenal 69 trail. The reddish eyes puzzled me, according to the book they should be yellowish. But really nothing else it could be, and the colour could be a quirk of the light. Found from the very South US as far down as Argentina.

 

large.745989603_CR_352_LeastGrebe_(Schwa

Edited by michael-ibk
Link to comment
Share on other sites

316/C6.) Black-Bellied Whistling-Duck (Dendrocygna autumnalis) / Rotschnabel-Pfeifgans

 

Apart from some domestic Muscovys the only Duck we saw, at least in Summer Costa Rica is not exactly teeming with waterfowl.

 

large.1635664711_CR_1779_Black-BelliedWh

 

Rancho Naturalista area, 26/7.

 

large.207773626_CR_3259_Black-BelliedWhi

 

Bosque del Cabo, 31/7.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

317/C7.) Neotropic Cormorant (Phalacrocorax brasilianus) / Olivenscharbe.

 

Carribean Coast, somewhere North of Manzanillo, 24/7. The only one we saw. This bird occurs in all of South and Central America.

 

large.403976079_CR_1309_NeotropicCormora

Link to comment
Share on other sites

318/C8.) Anhinga (Anhinga anhinga) / Amerikanischer Schlangenhalsvogel

 

A cousin of the familiar African Darter. Again, the only bird we saw, on the Arenal 69 trail, in the same place as the Least Grebe. The name is derived from the Tupi ajíŋa which in local mythology refers to a malevolent demonic forest spirit; it is often translated as "devil bird". Don´t ask me why people thought that, I´m just pasting stuff from Wiki.:P

 

large.12472465_CR_355_Anhinga_(Amerik.Sc

 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

319/C9.) Brown Pelican (Pelecanus occidentalis) / Braunpelikan

 

Seen a couple of times on the Carribean Coast, much more common on the Pacific side, impossible to miss there. A group of them entertained us in Bosque Del Cabo, 31/7.

 

large.1295234872_CR_2947_BrownPelican_(B

 

large.1101249661_CR_2970_BrownPelican_(B

 

large.1394616699_CR_2933_BrownPelican_(B

 

large.2014714394_CR_2979_BrownPelican_(B

 

large.908006763_CR_3014_BrownPelican_(Br

 

large.1462809768_CR_3019_BrownPelican_(B

 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

320/C10.) Magnificent Frigatebird (Fregata magnificens) / Prachtfregattvogel

 

Common on both coasts but always flying high so not easy to get a decent shot of. Found from the very South of the US as far South as Argentina.

 

large.1993226058_CR_2777_MagnificentFrig

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

-/C11.) Black Tern (Chlidonias niger) / Trauerseeschwalbe

 

Carribean Coast, on the way from Manzanillo to Rancho Naturalista, 24/7. One of the few Costa Rican birds which also occur in Europe, and I already have it in the count (from Romania). The only Tern we saw. Surprisingly there was not a single Gull. In general birdlife is very scarce on the seaside, at least in Summer.

 

large.2061876643_CR_1306_BlackTern_(Trau

Edited by michael-ibk
Link to comment
Share on other sites

321/C12.) Sunbittern (Euryphyga helias) / Sonnenralle

 

Silent Valley, Rancho Naturalista area, 25/7. A birding highlight, our local guide Hermann searched long and hard for this one. I was surprised about the habitat.  I have seen this bird often enough in the Pantanal where it prefers wet open grasslands. Here in Costa Rica they like small undisturbed creeks.

 

large.CR_1510_Sunbittern_(Sonnenralle).J

 

large.CR_1541_Sunbittern_(Sonnenralle).J

 

It did not give us the full show but at least kind of displayed its gorgeous wing colours.

 

large.CR_1522_Sunbittern_(Sonnenralle).J

 

Unfortunately it only fully opened up when it hopped out of sight.

 

large.CR_1547_Sunbittern_(Sonnenralle).J

Link to comment
Share on other sites

322/C13.) Bare-Throated Tiger-Heron (Tigrisoma mexicanum) / Nacktkehlreiher

 

Very common on the Osa Pensinsula and along the Pacific Coast. An exclusively Central American species.

 

Isla Dama (near Manuel Antonio, 4/8.

 

large.1419406903_CR_3848_Bare-ThroatedTi

 

large.530120669_CR_3839_Bare-ThroatedTig

 

large.1070960308_CR_3851_Bare-ThroatedTi

 

large.156519294_CR_3863_Bare-ThroatedTig

 

And a juvenile, close to Puerto Jimenéz (on the way back from Bosque del Cabo), 2/8.

 

large.1143985976_CR_3526_Bare-ThroatedTi

Link to comment
Share on other sites

323/C14.) Fasciated Tiger Heron (Tigrisoma fasciatum) / Streifenreiher

 

Arenal entrance road, 15/7 & 16/7. Only seen here. Occuring higher up than its cousin, all the way down South to Argentina along a narrow band on the Eastern side of the Andes.

 

large.2129034972_CR_125_FasciatedTiger-H

 

The juvenile is very similar to the Bare-Throated but note the lack of bare yellow skin on throat.

 

large.2089835960_CR_305_FasciatedTiger-H

Edited by michael-ibk
Link to comment
Share on other sites

324/C15.) Green Heron (Butorides virescens) / Grünreiher

 

A sister species to Africa´s familiar Green-Backed Heron and for a long time they were even considered conspecific. Luckily for my BY count they are now two separate species.

 

Seen in Silent Valley (Rancho Naturalista area), 25/7.

 

large.677408655_CR_1582_GreenHeron_(Grnr

 

And very common in a completely different habitat, the Mangroves around Isla Dama, 4/8, where the "Green" part of the name finally made sense to me.

 

large.765764091_CR_3868_GreenHeron_(Grnr

Link to comment
Share on other sites

325/C16.) Little Blue Heron (Egretta caerulea) / Blaureiher

 

Isla Dama (Manuel Antonio area), 4/8. This adult apparently was an early arrival, according to the book this migrant to Costa Rica only starts arriving around September.

 

large.1428789472_CR_3815_LittleBlueHeron

 

And a distant juvenile (which tend to stick around for the first summer) from the Carribean side, 24/7.

 

large.1405860582_CR_1312_LittleBlueHeron

Link to comment
Share on other sites

-/C17.) Cattle Egret (Bubulcus ibis) / Kuhreiher

 

Yes, they are everywhere. A late arrival to the Americas actually, from Wiki: The cattle egret has undergone one of the most rapid and wide reaching natural expansions of any bird species. It was originally native to parts of Southern Spain and Portugal, tropical and subtropical  Africa and humid tropical and subtropical Asia. Cattle egrets were first sighted in the Americas on the boundary of Guiana and Suriname in 1877, having apparently flown across the Atlantic. It was not until the 1930s that the species is thought to have become established in that area.The species first arrived in North America in 1941 (these early sightings were originally dismissed as escapees).  It was first recorded breeding in Costa Rica in 1958, although it was probably established before that.

 

Bosque del Cabo, 31/7.

 

large.1419562721_CR_2790_CattleEgret_(Ku

 

large.1720127135_CR_3094_CattleEgret_(Ku

Link to comment
Share on other sites

326/C18.) Snowy Egret (Egretta thula) / Schmuckreiher

 

Isla Dama (Manuel Antonio area), 4/8. The only sighting of this species. This is the American counterpart to our familiar Little Egret. At one time, the beautiful plumes of the snowy egret were in great demand as decorations for women's hats. This reduced the population of the species to dangerously low levels. Now protected in the United States by law, this bird's population has rebounded.

 

large.326309025_CR_3905_SnowyEgret_(Schm

 

large.1378801682_CR_3908_SnowyEgret_(Sch

Link to comment
Share on other sites

327/C19.) Black Crowned Night-Heron (Nycticorax nycticorax) / Krabbenreiher

 

Manzanillo 21/7 & 22/7. Only seen here in the palm trees along the coast. As their German name (= Crab Heron) implies they eat mostly Crustaceans.

 

large.1214143567_CR_1207_Yellow-CrownedN

 

The juvenile:

 

large.1028141597_CR_989_Yellow-CrownedNi

Edited by michael-ibk
Link to comment
Share on other sites

328/C20.) Boat-Billed Heron (Cochlearisu cochlearius) / Kahnschnabel

 

Tarcoles Bridge, 4/8. One to defend my ebc-honour, a drastic crop here. :) Could not even see what it was when taking the photo, too far away, and the rain did not help. So this is one of several birds I only "spotted" when going through my photos. A nocturnal species which will be familiar to Pantanal visitors.

 

large.1202037298_CR_4014_Boat-BilledHero

Link to comment
Share on other sites

329/C21.) American White Ibis (Eudocimus albus) / Schneesichler

 

The book says it should be uncommon (="Recorded on less than 50 % of days") but we saw it every day on Osa Peninsula and around Manuel Antonio so it´s actually common (="Should be recorded almost daily, though not necessarily in large numbers"). There´s a second White Ibis, the Australian one, but that birds looks very different, more like a Sacred Ibis.

 

Manuel Antonio, 3/8.

 

large.1761930546_CR_3761_AmericanWhiteIb

 

Bosque del Cabo, 30/7

 

large.1865989762_CR_2794_WhiteIbis_(Schn

Edited by michael-ibk
Link to comment
Share on other sites

330/C22.) Green Ibis (Mesembrinibis cayennensis) / (Grünibis)

 

Rancho Naturalista area, 26/7. The only place where we saw this species, and we specifically went there to try for it (and for the Whistling Duck already posted, also for the Eastern Meadow-Lark which we did not find there).

 

large.356380309_CR_1773_GreenIbis_(Grnib

Link to comment
Share on other sites

331/C23.) Roseate Spoonbill (Platalea ajaja) / Rosalöffler

 

Bosque del Cabo, 31/7. Particular happy about this sighting, the only bird of the trip.

 

large.1630995232_CR_2684_RoseateSpoonbil

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I have been waiting impatiently for your Costa Rica birds, so I am delighted to the great start to this section.

The Spoonbill is a lovely bird.

Edited by TonyQ
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

Safaritalk uses cookies to ensure you get the best experience on our website. By using Safaritalk you agree to our use of cookies. If you wish to refuse the setting of cookies you can change settings on your browser to clear and block cookies. However, by doing so, Safaritalk may not work properly and you may not be able to access all areas. If you are happy to accept cookies and haven't adjusted browser settings to refuse cookies, Safaritalk will issue cookies when you log on to our site. Please also take a moment to read the Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy: Terms of Use l Privacy Policy